


if i was dying on my knees (you would be the one to rescue me)

by jcp_sob_rjl_lmep



Category: Batman - All Media Types, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Gen, No pairings - Freeform, Not Avengers friendly, Tony and Bruce are like Brothers, a lot of Tony introspection, a lot of the characters are basically name dropped only
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-07
Updated: 2019-04-07
Packaged: 2020-01-06 04:06:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 856
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18380621
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jcp_sob_rjl_lmep/pseuds/jcp_sob_rjl_lmep
Summary: But his team doesn’t know him, and it simultaneously hurts more than it should and doesn’t hurt as much as it used to.





	if i was dying on my knees (you would be the one to rescue me)

“Tony, just take the-” Steve starts once more. Tony tries to take a deep breath, but even with his improved lung capacity, it’s just not something he’s actually capable of anymore.

They’re all at a Brucie Wayne party, the Avengers, for some reason that Tony hadn’t bothered to pay attention to. By some miracle, it’s actually being held at Wayne Manor, in the ballroom that Tony can still hear the echo of Thomas Wayne’s voice overlaid by two little boys’ giggling laughter. The Waynes had been one family that his father had allowed him to associate with, and he can still remember rolling around the grounds with Bruce, Jarvis and Alfred sitting and watching them with their cups of tea. Thomas and Martha Wayne had given Tony an example of a real family, and sometimes, a dark place inside of himself wonders why they had to die so early when his own parents had been so much worse.

Steve shoves the file at him, nearly knocking Tony off balance with unexpected force, but before Tony can do anything, there’s another familiar voice at his side.

“Is there a problem, Mister Rogers?” Alfred asks dryly, the closest thing to a pillar of strength that Tony’s had since Jarvis and Ana died (and god, that still hurts more than his parents’ ever could), and Tony wouldn’t admit it, but sometimes he calls Wayne Manor and asks Alfred to just talk to him, just so he can pretend his life hasn’t gone this wrong since he turned eighteen. Alfred plucks the file from Steve’s hand and sets it on the tray he’s holding, offering it to Tony, who finally takes it, trying to ignore the incomprehension and anger on the faces of his teammates. To be fair, Alfred’s known him since he was a little kid, knows exactly how old he was when he stopped taking things being handed to him (and why he stopped as well), yet it still seems like something a ‘close-knit team’ should know. But his team doesn’t know him, and it simultaneously hurts more than it should and doesn’t hurt as much as it used to.

“Thanks, Alfie,” Tony says, quiet, and Alfred nods back. “Master Tony.”

Then he’s walking back off, probably to go find one of his other charges. Dick’s on the other side of the room, easy smiles drawing the attention of the group he’s in and the people around him. Jason and Cass are dancing together, in a scene that’s familiar from galas they both end up at, one that’s always called ‘a sweet show of sibling love’ by reporters in the morning. Tim’s already begged off, talking about work and early mornings, dragging Peter and Damian with him, and Tony knows that Red Robin and Robin are patrolling by now, Spiderman on standby in the cave. The only one Tony can’t see is Bruce, and that means-

“Tony!” Brucie booms, throwing his arm over Tony’s shoulders. It’s still jarring to hear Bruce call him Tony, not ‘Tonio’ as he had when they were kids, as the Wayne children now refer to Tony Stark. For a moment, Brucie turns into Bruce, his eyes darkening and his body stiffening. He looks sharply at the Avengers, who all seem startled at the change in Tony’s oldest friend. “Is there a problem here?”

Tony looks at them, the Avengers, the people he’d thought would be the one thing standing between the world and all that came to harm her. He thinks about the Justice League, about the night Bruce had called him and said that he was taking in a kid whose parents had died the way his own had. The first time Dick had called him ‘Uncle Tonio’ and Bruce had smiled, really smiled, in a way that was so rare Tony could count on one hand the number of times he’d seen it. How Tony always showed up the next morning when Bruce said he had a new kid, no matter where in the world he was because this was his brother and a new nephew (or niece, when he’d called about Cass).

How Tony had called about taking in Peter, and by dinner the next day, all of the Waynes were there in his penthouse, Alfred taking over the kitchen seamlessly, Dick and Jason and Tim all drawing Peter out of his shell, Cass soothing Damian’s rough edges enough to not push Peter right back in, and Bruce and Tony with their drinks (water, because once Tony said he was going sober Bruce refused to touch a drink in his presence) watching over the family they had brought together from the ashes of their own lost ones.

He thinks about his father's voice saying  _Stark men are made of iron_ , and then Uncle Tom saying  _Family before everything, boys. Even when you have nothing else, you have each other._

Tony looks at these bullies who take his money and run roughshod over him, and he tucks the file under his free arm and shakes his head, already pushing at his brother so they can walk away together.

“No problems here.”

**Author's Note:**

> This is one of my rare ventures outside of Star Trek, but hopefully, they're going to get a little more common. I have a lot of ideas, it's just execution that's the problem.  
> I posted something a couple days ago and I think this is the fastest I've ever posted something else. I just have a lot of feels for not only a brotherly relationship between Bruce and Tony, but also the two of them and all of the kids. Plus Alfred. And Jarvis.  
> The quote from Howard is real, obviously, but I made up the quote from Thomas. Title's from Brother by Kodaline.  
> Tumblr's iwillstaywiththemforever.  
> Bye guys.


End file.
